Moments of a Wedding
by Kattzia
Summary: Cloud is standing by the priest, a begrudgingly clean Cid. His best man Zack is at his back, the bride walking down the flower-strewn aisle. His wedding day; who knew a celebration could cause so much pain? Extended one-shots. Cloti, Clerith, Zerith
1. Hail Matrimony, made of Love!

******A/N **This will be a collection of one-shots based around an event- Cloud's wedding. Snapshots, if you like. Some will be longer then others, and hopefully it will be chronological as to the order of a typical British wedding. I've been thinking recently, actions speak than words. Therefore I'm trying to write a more physical action, reaction and emotion-in-play than just simply describing the scene. It's an experiment, and I hope you get as much emotion out of this as I've put it!! Reviews are appreciated, of course, flames taken as constructive criticism. 

** Summary; Cloud is standing by the priest, a begrudgingly clean Cid. His best man Zack is at his back, the bride walking down the flower-strewn aisle. His wedding day; who knew a celebration could cause so much pain? Extended collection of one-shots around this eventful day. Cloti, Clerith, Zerith. **

Cloud stared down the aisle. Yellow and white flowers draped down the pews, small bunches proudly stood at the end of each one, stiff and shining with delicate dew drops to keep them fresh. He never thought he would be here, hands clasped, hair reasonably tamed, too-tight-tie round his neck making him want to gasp for air, or perhaps that was the nervousness. Cid stood to his left, slightly behind him, looking out of place himself with a white vicar collar and bible open in his scrubbed hands. Cloud mildly thought the Captain looked grumpier than usual, but the thought wasn't that important in the whole run of things. Zack was stood behind him; Cloud could sense his presence, suitably suppressed for the dignity of the ceremony he thought, though it was unusual for Zack to be so... quiet.

But that wasn't important for the moment. He was waiting, waiting for the strike of the organ to signal the doors to open and the love of his life to grace the aisle. Waiting to finally make her his wife. And there it was! At last! Cloud fixed his gaze at the doors as they swung open, and Marlene skipped down, enjoying her attention and throwing petals everywhere. She cheekily threw some at Barrett as she past, giggling childishly. He didn't seem to mind. Who could mind anything on a day like this? Denzel, nervousness shining in his big eyes, gripping the ring pillow with a fearful determination quickly stepped down next, perhaps a little out of time; but Cloud couldn't care less. The woman he was marrying was making her way towards him- blinding white dress trailing behind her, yellow flowers held perfectly in front of her. Hair tied back in a bun- so different from her usual style- and a pearly veil over her beautiful face.

He had eyes only for her, seeking out her gaze from under that veil. Closer, closer with perfectly timed steps practiced over and over in the church days before. She was finally facing him... Gaia! But then she smiled, and he found the confidence to reach forward and lift the veil that obstructed her gaze, which lifted to catch his own. Emeralds have never sparkled as bright as her eyes did then.

Rubies never looked as dull as the eyes of the maid of honour, fixed on Cloud and allowing herself to pretend for a second that she was the one in the white dress, the one Cloud stared at with an intensity that could melt the world away. Silent feet on the padded aisle carpet left her heart at the church door, racked up next to coats, hats and the sympathetic company of Zack's own broken heart. This was a ceremony of making two become one; excess ones were not required at the altar.

Soundless steps with the soft swish of layered fabric, the organ replacing the absence of sound. Tifa kept her dull rubies facing forward to not run the risk of tripping into his eyes and tripping over the hem of her claret dress in the process. She passed him without a glance, although a breath was all she needed. Lightning, earth, storms... she knew his scent in an instant, and he filled her mind without her willing permission. Somehow, her body had drifted into the correct position next to Zack, and they stood together facing the entire congregation, including the very image of love's ignorant bliss.

Wordlessly, long fingers of a strong hand curled round hers. She gripped it back.

"Thanks" she whispered. Zack just gave a tight nod.

A gruff clearing of a phlegm-plagued throat, and Cid began.

"Dearly belov'd. We are gather'd 'ere today..."


	2. Mataatua

The couple's first dance. So memorable. Especially for Tifa as she watched the love of her life stare deeply into another's eyes, so immersed in them he didn't seem to mind the crowd that respectfully gathered to watch. He hated crowds, he hated attention. And yet, here he was with yet another open display of affection for anyone to watch. The clutch in her hands had become oddly out of shape beneath her fighter's fingers, though her eyes never left the scene and her face bore the most neutral of expressions. Barrett took one look at her extraordinarily stiff back and eased his big flesh hand round her bare shoulders, gently pulling the mangled purse from under her rigid fingers with his metal digits and allowing her to grip onto those instead; fingers she could not crush. But unconsciously she did still try.

Cloud clumsily spun Aeirth round again, smiling in return to her giggle as she almost tripped over her trail. The song was slow, and they did little else but sway from side to side under the spotlight, hardly moving. But to them, the world was dead unless it was captured in the other's eyes, so if the room did not orbit, why should they? Other members of Avalanche gazed uneasily on the scene, the silence a palpable tension as their eyes flitted to the dark figures on either side of the room; Zack by the French doors, arms crossed and his black bangs hanging over his pale face, to the bright couple in whites and yellows in the middle of the room and finally to Tifa, sitting with her crimson dress pooling by her feet. Her body language betrayed her passive face even with the comforting bulk of Barrett beside her.

Finally, after an eternity of oblivious swaying and heart-wrenching giggles, the song trundled to an end and the wedded couple sat at their top table, benevolent grins showered on the tables below. The next dance was about to commence.

He held his hand out to her, and she was expecting it. Rough, marred by battle scars but still a silent invitation to share the pain. Zack; her mirrored image in dashing red, cravat and crimson button-hole flower... best man to match the maid of honour, harmonising right down to the eyes which epitomised Tifa's own pained look of loss. She knew she wasn't alone in her heart's tempest.

A smile that didn't reach her eyes; a bow that mocked formalities and a grip that bridged the two fortresses of hearts, even through Tifa's silken glove. He led her to the dance floor as the music changed, Latino, tango... sharp one-two-three-four! Tifa knew it; she danced the steps at night with the moon occasionally- when the bar was empty. Once she danced it with Cloud, her passion making up for his lack of knowledge or timing, and that night had been one of the best of her life, being so close to him, feeling his grip tighten on her waist as he- laughing- dipped her backwards and struck the classic tango pose. The way they paused, breathless lips mere inches from one another's...

She took her position, feeling Zack's fingers splay across her spine as she delicately wound her left forearm around his right, wrists touching intimately. Tifa suddenly intertwined their fingers, replying to Zack's upturned mouth with her own small smile.

"You know this?" A murmur. Amusement and anticipation held in the same breath.

"I dance better then I fight" Tifa wanted to be sassy; the tango called for it. Each looked away and saw the multitude of eyes upon them, a guilty pleasure fired in Tifa's heart as she felt the burning presence of a particular cerulean set... And snap! Their eyes locked in an intense stare as unhindered their feet began to dance... slow...slow... quick-quick slow was the pace as Zack led her round the dance floor, hips swaying so beautifully in time that Tifa could not help but move closer, if only to feel the pleasure of such exact timings, the simultaneous rocking of their fluid movements hypnotising them both. His leg flashed between her thighs as she flicked her dress, pulling her into a rapid spin and stop! And again, slow... slow... quick-quick slow.

Mako flashed in Zack's eyes as the adrenaline coursed through his veins. Just like how Cloud's would spark when she was close to him, close enough to reach out and touch- her breath fired as Zack was suddenly still, one arm arched, chest puffed out proudly- her cue to spin, tight, fast and away from her partner. Two arm lengths away from each other and Tifa couldn't help but note Cloud and Zack were roughly the same size... Same build. He pulled her flush to him, gripping her thigh as it was pressed to his hip and a buzz went through her as she felt her bare skin rub against his trouser cloth. His breath was hot on her face and neither noticed the other's glazed stare. She no longer danced with Zack, his black spikes replaced by a much lighter shade, those flashing violet eyes suddenly a familiar blue... They twirled, wrapped in their own fantasies until the crescendo of the song reached their ears and they struck apart, only to come together again as Tifa elegantly danced across the floor to fall with grace and precision into the waiting arms of her blonde partner... The music ended and both came too, panting heavily and staring so intensely into each other's eyes you might have mistaken the emotion etched on the face for pure, unadulterated love between a couple... until Tifa realised Cloud still sat with Aeirth at the top table, and it was Zack who supported her in this dramatic pose. She glimpsed the confusion in Zack's own eyes as he hastily set her upright, and she knew he had suffered the same delusion.

"Your hair was blonde" She quietly admitted to him amongst the dim of applause

"Your eyes were emerald" He replied sadly, and kissed her check affectionately, apologetically.

Other couples moved onto the dance floor now, letting them fade into the background again as the music turned to more popular tracks. The music playing was pop, charts... The Tango was as beautiful as it was obsolete in the music of the new generation, but it was the past that both Zack and Tifa clung to. Dancing to memories was easier then dealing with truth.

Zack gave her a soft smile, and she drew him into a friendly embrace, yet a burning sensation was making her back itch, which she instinctively knew was Cloud's eyes boring into her, willing her to turn around. And as damaged as she was, she could not deny him... Could she ever refuse him anything? A home, a life, a warm body in the dark night, forgiveness... she could not resist when it came to Cloud. But after this painful night, she knew it had to stop. She had to stop this unrelenting need to please him, give into his demands like he demanded of her now; but still, Tifa felt her body turn towards the top table, scanning down it before her eyes landed on _them –_the happy couple.

They were so bright, shining, dazzling in white and blonde. Such a contrast to her and Zack, so dark with ebony hair, deep red outfits. She suddenly felt like a shadow. Why would Cloud look back into the darkness when he was surrounded by light? And yet his gaze was fixated on her, his beautiful, endless twin oceans of Mako blue crashing down upon her vulnerable own; and his seas had storms. Anger swept out and rolled back in as if Cloud was restraining himself. His angel fluttered and brushed her long hair from her bare shoulders, seemingly glowing in the spot lights. She looked so happy, a mindless smile gracing her perfect lips and indeed Tifa noted her mind was elsewhere- though her eyes held Tifa's own they looked past her somehow. It made Tifa wonder if there was something about herself that Aeirth could see when she could not.

Cloud's glare was demanding her attention again, but she could not face them else risk drowning. Instead she took Zack's hand again and gently pulled him away, although his eyes seemed unwilling to follow his body when they were so engrossed in heaven's light. Moths. They were both moths drawn from the darkness to the light only to be stung by this electric rejection. Tifa, though it felt like going against her very nature, turned from the dazzling illumination of the top table and drew Zack away.

"I didn't know you danced so... So wonderfully. Where'd you even learn that?" Tifa remarked, trying to bring round her friend before they hit the wave of people off the dance floor. Suddenly Zack turned his cocky grin on her, making her smile before he opened his mouth.

With a wink, Zack answered her question;

"Teef, the vertical dance isn't that different from the horizontal dance- if you get my drift- and I've had plenty of experience!"

Tifa's laughter could be heard ringing in heaven's startled ear. The seas were a jealous tempest.

**A/N I am very proud of this, I love dancing! I wanted to portray more emotional action by contrasting in this chapter; styles of dance, colours, light, storm and peace. Anybody able to dance the Tango? Tell me how I did! **

**P.s, the chapter titles are poems.**


	3. O Mistress Mine!

She wandered the halls, so big, ornate with patterned carpets and tastefully old-fashioned wallpaper. The manor house was magnificent; Tifa imagined walking these halls every day, what would it be like to have a maid? Someone who would cook and clean for her... But what would she do? The idea seemed so alien to her at once and she brushed it away. Fingers tracing the walls lightly under her silky gloves, she turned a corner past a bust of some famous poet, whispering the inscription thoughtlessly.

"_If music be the food of love..._"

Tifa paused, the swish of her dress suddenly silent.

Her fingers felt no purchase where before they had touched wall, now only thin air. A glance to her side told of a door open ajar, and through that gap, though only seen by a dark slice of vision, Tifa recognised the shining black wood of a piano.

Her breath drew in suddenly and she impulsively pushed the door open to find the room empty, and the beautiful piano- a grand, so magnificent- set against the framework of large French doors. The night outside, dotted with delicate spotlights, spread out behind it gave the room a soft glow. However, it was the moon that lit the room and reflected its salient light off the glossed wood of the piano. The singular instrument, the singular room, the singular Tifa and the singular moon all converged to create such an air of sympathetic loneliness that Tifa's heart swelled a little and she swish-swish-swished towards it in her fine gown.

Softly, she settled on the velvet stool. The lid neither rose with creak nor compliant, and Tifa brushed the keys lightly with her fingers. The ivories bowed gently to her touch, begging to be played. Slowly, hesitantly, she pulled off her gloves and felt the cool keys beneath her fingers begin to resonate hushed tones at her gentle touch. Encouraged, the sounds grew louder and more playful as Tifa delighted in the arresting instrument. Beautiful tones issued out as music came back to her, flowing through her consciousness and down her arms and out her fingertips; a scale, a tango, a waltz. A pink room. A small child playing _do re mi fa so... _a town bell, a fire, a sharp pain cutting through her chest, and the great ache of loss. Suddenly stiff fingers faltered on the melody, creaking to a stop. And then hesitantly started again on sombre tunes, slow chords building up once again into melodies and harmony.

A presence was behind her, she knew by the way a familiar heat ran up her spine and her heart pulled at her back, demanding she turn to face him. Fingers slipped and the tune came to a faltering halt again, head bent and refusing to greet him- although her silence acknowledged him. Today, of all days, he could break the hush that so often enveloped the both of them.

The silence thickened the air, and lasted an immeasurable amount of time as neither of them moved to make a sound though Tifa could hear him fidgeting, playing with his cuff links nervously. She remained still, like a stone. For was her heart not now frozen like marble? His was alive with love, beating the life-blood though his veins and so he could fiddle and squirm all he likes. She felt as rock looks; dead. Should she not act like one too? Silent and unmoving, she simply breathed and waited. Eventually, after an eternity of listen to him lingering behind her, he moved, took a step forward and drew a tentative breath. Then retracted and removed himself from the room, leaving Tifa with nothing but a sigh and the piano's black and white smile. As soon as the door shut she flew to the keys with alacrity and jumped straight into a passionate prelude; _forte, rapido_, anger flowing from her fingertips to the piano who expressed her emotions with beautiful clarity. The loud, fervent song bounced off walls and shook the quiet atmosphere quite from the room.

She knew the music resonated through sensitive ears; with bitter strokes she wished it would ever pierce that oblivious heart.


End file.
